Ventilating-cushion for footwear.



` F. J. DROBINSKI. v VENTILATING CUSHION FOR FOOTWEAR.

APPLIOATION FILED MAR. 31, 1911,

Patented June 11, 1912.

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INVENTQR WITNESSES; v @w plates,J

B, which FRANCIS J'. DROIBINSKI, Oil? NEW YORK,v

PANY', or CHELSEA, MASSACHUSETTS,-

N. Y., AssIGNon 'ro EEvEaE RUBBER o oM- A CORPORATION `0F RHODE ISLAND.

VENTILATING-CUSHION FOR FOOTWEAR.

Toall who/m it may concern:

Be it known that I, 'FRANCIS J. Dnomsxr, a citizen of the United States,the borough of Brooklyn, county city and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Im rovements 1n Ventilating- Cushionsfor ootwear, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a cushion adapted for insertion within a boot orshoe or other article of foot-wear, and has for its object to produce acushion which will be elastic and. resilient, and will therefore provideagainst a transmission of shocks in walking, etc.

A further object of Amy invention is to produce a cushion which willhave the effect of Ventilating the article of foot-Wear to which it isapplied.

A desirable mode of carrying my invention into effect is illustrated inthe accom'- panying drawings, whereinr,

Figure l is a longitudinal section of a portion of a shoe having' oneform of my invention in place; the section linee of the cushion being onthe line 1-1 ofe Fig. 3; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a cushion inwhich my invention is embodied Fig. 3 is a horizontal section of thedevice shown in Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a detail front view of the cushionillustrated in Fig. 1; and Fig. 5 is a `cross-section on the line 5-5 inFig. 3.

The particular embodiment of invention illustrated is a heel cushionwherein the air passages are ,situated at the front of4 the cushion. Theinvention is of course equally applicable to cushions which will coverthe entire bottom of the shoe, and which will embody the sameconstruction illustrated in the drawing, and therefore to avoidduplication I have illustrated s'uch cushion separately. The airpassages may be variously disposed to suit the particular size or shapeof the cushion.

My invention as illustrated employs two an upper plate A and a lowerplate are connected by a series of hollow columns C. lPreferably theentire structure is composed of some 'elastic and resilient material,for which purpose soft vulcanized rubber is well adapted, and in suchcase the columns C will be formed of thesame material and will bevulcanized to the upper and lower plates. The form of such columnsSpecification of Letters Patent. Application filed March 31,1911.,Serial No. 618,071.

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l Patented une 11|, 1912.

them to remain in extended .position permits malntain the platesseparated, as

and to illustrated in' Fig. 1', while at the same time they readilyyield under pressure and collapse without injury.- In this particularthe hollow columnar supports are a great im'- provement upon the solidsupport, which does not collapse so readily and is apt to break. Thesaid plates are closed about the1r .edges byy a front wall D anda sidewall E, which closes -bo-th sides and the back of the device.

The front wall of the cushion is provided with passages d whichlead-from the exterior into the interior of said cushion, and by reasonof the fact that the structure comprises a collapsible to which are thesaid passages, a bellows is thereby produced which alternately forcesair through the said passages d into the shoe and withdraws the air fromthe shoe into the receptacle orcushion. A highly desirable circulationof air within the shoe and ventilation thereof is thereby attained.

The longitudinal section, Fig. 1, shows that the device is slightlyconvex longitudinally upon its upper surface, and tapers from front torear, the'least thickness being at its forward end, and this incombination surface transversely as illustrated I have found furnishes adesirable I do not regard the same as eslower plates. in the upper andlower plates as in the coll umns is not essential, but by reason vof thefact that a more desirable connection between the columns and theplates, and also box, the only openings ould therefore be connected- -byan air-tight connection-to the upper and The same degree of flexibilitywith a certain amount of convexity upon the side walls and the front,may be had if all of the ,said parts are formed of rubber and vulcanizedtogether, I prefer to make the entire device of soft vulcanized rubber.Therefore should the said device be entirely made of softvulcanizedrubber to overcome any objections. which might arise' from theinuence of the rubber` u on the foot of the wearer, I may provi e aleather insole F My invention isl not necessarily limited to the preciseform, 'shape or relatlve arrangement of parts illustrated, but issubject to variations and modifications thereof within the limits of theappended claims.

I claim as my invention l. A cushion for shoes comprising upper andlower plates each formed of an lntegral iece'of soft rubber, and hollowcolumns lbcat'ed perpendicularly to said plate-s and each connected to`both of said plates, said columns formed of soft rubber and said platesserving to clo-se said columns and form independent air 'cells in eachcolumn and, to maintain said columns in position.

2. A cushion for shoes comprising upper and lower plates, a verticalwall connecting said plates at their edges, and hollow columns formedof'elastic and resilient material and connected to both said plates,

whereby said columns form air cells adapt-- ed to return said plates toposition after compression, andare maintained in place by said plates,the wholeconstructed of soft rubber andsaid top and bottom plates andvertical wall connected by an air tight connection and forminga'bellows-like structure and said structure provided withvau opening forthe passage of air.'

3. A cushion for shoes comprisingupper and lower plates closed at theiredges, and i hollow columns eachv connected to both of` said plates, thewhole formed of soft rubber,

nected to said plates, the whole formed of,

soft rubber vulcanized together and one of said walls being providedwith an air passage formin a bellows-like cushion.

' 5. A cushion for shoes comprising upper 'and lower plates, hollowcolumns each connected to both of said lates and walls connected to saidplates orming an inclosure, the whole formed of soft rubber vulcanizedtogether and the front wall of said structure being provided with an airpassage.

6. In a cushion heel,'top and bottom plates connected ,at their edgesforming an air chamber between them, posts interposed between sai platesand connected to one of said plates adapted to restore' said plates tosepara d condition after compression, said posts andthe plate to whichthey are connected being formed of soft rubber vulcanized to ether, andthe said structure being provi ed with an opening at its front end and`forming a bellows-like cushion.

AIn witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name in the presence oftwo sub` scribing witnesses. c v

FRANCIS J. DROBINSKI. Witnesses:

THOMAS F. WALLACE, FRED W. KRIMMERT.

